Unless you’ve been under a rock (of Eternity?), you know that this weekend saw DC/Warners’ massive online DC FanDome event, a kind of virtual convention to pimp their upcoming wares to a hungry but housebound audience.
It was a huge success, too; while Marvel has dominated the BO and cultural conversation in recent years (but no hatin’ – we at Chaos Pop like to sample all the meats in fandom’s cultural stew), DC have a devastatingly impressive upcoming slate across multiple media. And while exactly when we’re going to be seeing a lot of this stuff is up in the air thanks to These Uncertain Times, that’s no reason not to get excited right now, starting with…
Wonder Woman 1984
Still slated for an October 1 theatrical release in Australia, the sequel to the best DCEU movie sees Diana, Princess of Themyscira (Gal Gadot) squaring off against the feline-powered Cheetah (Kristen Wiig, and good for her) in the pastel-printed ’80s, with a recently resurrected Steve Trevor (one of the Chrises) being baffled by fashion in the background. What does Max Lord (Pedro Pascal) have to do with it? Nothing good, if you know your comics lore. The great Patty Jenkins returns to the director’s chair for this one, which bodes well. Now as long as that release date holds steady… Anyhoo, check out Wondy’s Golden Eagle armour in the new trailer below!
The Suicide Squad
So, a personal note: I came this close to getting to visit the set of The Suicide Squad when I was in the States last year, but we couldn’t make the timing work. Ah, well; just means I get to see all this stuff at the same time as you guys.
The Suicide Squad is a sequel/soft reboot of the 2016 David Ayer-directed effort, with GotG‘s James Gunn calling the shots. Once again, this sees a motley mixed bag of DC villains, moistly C-listers, also-rans, and Harley Quinn (Margot Robbie), drafted by shady government operative Amanda Waller (Viola Davis) to try and pull off some high-body-count black ops nonsense.
So, who’s in The Suicide Squad? Well, we don’t have a trailer, but we have this…
Look, the important thing is Jai Courtney’s Captain Boomerang is back, as well as a wealth of disposable antiheroes for what will surely be an absolute bloodbath of a flick. Count on Gunn to make us care for these yahoos before they’re blown all to hell as well – he’s got form for that. There’s also this sweet BTS sizzle reel:
The Suicide Squad is dated for August 5, 2021, which is my birthday. You know, they should call the next one A Suicide Squad – just lean into that mortality rate and revolving door roster.
The Batman
Shaking up the stale status quo, Warners surprised everyone by pushing this relatively obscure character to the forefront of their production slate. After seeing his parents stabbed to death in front of him, young Bryce Ryan (Robin Paterson) devotes himself to battling crime, donning the terrifying mantle of –
…ah, I can’t keep it up. You know this one. Have at it.
Yep, that’s a Batman movie. Robert Pattinson has proved himself to be a truly formidable actor in recent years, so stow the Twilight bashing, while director Matt Reeves, who absolutely killed it calling the shots on the last two Planet of the Apes flicks, is bringing fierce Seven energy to the proceedings. This is again an early career Batman movie, which we could probably put aside for a decade or two, but Pattinson’s Batman looks angry as all hell, and a young Batman barely keeping his rage in check, learning to master his fury and use his mind to battle evil is an interesting wrinkle on the familiar narrative notes. Paul Dano is The Riddler, Colin Farrell is The Penguin, Zoe Kravitz is Catwoman, , and we are here for it. September 30, 2021, same Bat Time, same Bat Channel.
Justice League: The Snyder Cut
Ah, well, look… I’m not the world’s biggest Zack Snyder fan and frankly, the use of Leonard Cohen in this thing is some kinda war crime, but a lot of you out there are keen AF for this, and who am I to get in the way of your enjoyment? Should surface on Foxtel and Binge hereabouts sometime next year.
How are we feeling about the upcoming DC slate, folks? Sound off in the comments.
